Al Horner

I just found a FaceBook page devoted to the Celebrity Silhouette which appears to be fairly active. That may be a source of information for me.

I have cruised with RCL for a long time. Due to a family cruise, we are going to take our first Celebrity (Silhouette) cruise next year. I have also been looking for an information forum on Celebrity but it's pretty scarce. They have a FaceBook page that is mostly advertising and there is a Cruise Critic forum but that's about it. I have also watched You Tube videos. For being a pretty large cruise line and sister to RCL, there is an amazing lack of information on Celebrity.

We were on the Symphony of the Seas in May this year. We ate at most of the specialty restaurants but the big surprise winner was 150 Central Park. The food was incredible! The meats were fantastic, moist, medium rare and very tasty. Who would have thought that even the vegetables could be something special? 150 Central Park wasn't just the best restaurant on the ship, it was one of the best restaurants we have ever eaten at!

My wife and go to Nachi Cocum whenever we go to Cozumel. It has activities but is more quiet than other beaches. It includes food and drinks which are all good. Nice thing is that you're pretty close to the water. There is also a large pool with a swim-up bar. Overall, it's a beautiful, relaxing day.

This may not be a fair question here but, are there any Celebrity blogs similar to this Royal Caribbean Blog? I know there is a Celebrity section on this blog but it is seldom used. Thanks!

I hate to say this, but Galveston had some serious flooding the last few days and a local bridge was knocked out of service. I would call to see if you can get to Galveston. At a minimum, I would give yourself a few extra hours to get there.

We always went by the napkin. If it was left on the chair, then the diner wasn't finished. If it was put on the plate, then the diner was finished.

I normally sale on RCL but we have a family cruise coming up on Celebrity. I'm trying to remember if I recently read somewhere that Celebrity was doing away with Formal Nights and going to casual. Can anyone verify that? We will be on the Celebrity Silhouette. Thanks!

We are platinum cruisers with RCL but we are now being asked to go on a family cruise on Celebrity. Does the RCL C&A benefit transfer over to Celebrity? Any tips on cruising with Celebrity? Thanks!

I wonder if (when?) this will impact "The Key" prices?

I find the more we cruise, the less we take. There are certain little things we do take. We take a plug-in night light (those rooms are dark at night!), I do like the strong (40 lb) magnetic hooks as well as the light-up battery powered clock. I might take metal straw but I hate taking anything that I have to clean.

Recently, on the Symphony, my wife wasn't feeling good on the actual day of a RCL shore excursion. I was at the Shore Excursion desk when they opened and, surprisingly, they gave me full credit for the excursion. No guarantee that they would always do this but it might be worth asking.

I also recommend the Blantons single cask bourbon. It comes in a beautiful bottle, tastes incredible and is not too expensive ($60-65??). It is almost impossible to find here in Houston but I did find it on my last RCL cruise. Even then, I was told the ship received exactly one case. So, if you're going to look for it on the ship, you should go as early as possible. You buy it (or them!) and the ship stores them until the end of your cruise. P.S. You can also look at the port liquor stores. Our last time in Grand Cayman, we found an entire rack of different Blantons products. More than I thought they sold!

I'm not a big rum drinker but on a cruise I enjoy quite a few rum punches. Another drink I like is the frozen mudslide. It seems most cruise ship bars don't make frozen drinks but the bar in the casino always does. They help to ease the pain of losing in the casino!

I get up early in the morning. First thing is to go up on deck. It is amazingly quiet with almost no one else about. Then, I head down to the Café Promenade for coffee and to read a book or have a conversation with other early risers. I love the early morning on a cruise ship!

Following my last cruise, I have finally joined the exalted ranks of the Diamond clan. So, I believe being Diamond gets you on the ship earlier. Does it let you disembark at the end of the cruise any easier? What about those free drinks? Is it three free drinks a night or just for the duration of the cruise? Can you get those drinks at any bar? Any other great benefits to being Diamond? Thanks!

We booked the Liberty for March 2021. Only 574 days to go!

I love cruising. If someone else doesn't want to go, that's their option but it sure as hell doesn't change my opinion. I view land based vacations as a waste of good cruising time!

Occasionally, I play bingo on the ship. A couple of cruises ago I actually won the free cruise for two. Before each of the grand prize bingo games, they always announced the rules including multiple winners. I'm surprised they didn't announce the rules in your game.

Pretty soon you'll buy the drink package and they'll throw in the cruise.

We were on the Symphony in May. Normally, we don't eat dinner in the Windjammer but we did on the last night of the cruise. All the way in the back of the WJ they had this Mongolian type service where you pick out your ingredients for a stir fry and it was absolutely amazing. Actually, it was better than our local Mongolian restaurant. Three thumbs up!

I think it depends on who's wearing the bathing suit. Some folks just shouldn't be seen in a swim suit at all, and others (in my humble opinion) can wear as little as they wish and long as they don't mind dirty old men ( or women - it is 2019) drooling over them!

If you don't like wine will the serve beer at the Chef's Table?

I'm following too! We're booked on the Liberty for March 2021, so it will be a while.

I've been hearing about different classes including star and sky class but I'm not sure what they are. Do they apply to types of cabins? How is this different from C&A levels like gold or diamond? Do they represent some benefits. I feel like I missed the boat! Thanks for any clarification!